1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector terminal including at opposite ends thereof a pair of press-fit terminals to be inserted into through-holes formed through each of two printed circuit boards located facing each other, to thereby electrically connect the two printed circuit boards to each other. The present invention relates further to a connector housing suitable to the connector terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an electric connector holding a plurality of connector terminals in a line. The connector terminals are inserted at one of ends thereof into through-holes formed through a first printed circuit board, and at the other end thereof into through-holes formed through a second printed circuit board, to thereby electrically connect circuits mounted on the first and second printed circuit boards to each other.
FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate a connector 100 suggested in Japanese Patent Publication No. H4 (1982)-29196.
The illustrated connector 100 includes a housing 110, and a plurality of post contacts 120. The connector 100 electrically connects printed circuit boards 101 and 102 (see FIG. 27B) to each other. The housing 110 includes a pair of side pillars 112 each including a latch arm 111 at a lower end thereof, and an upper bar 113 and a lower bar 114 both horizontally connecting the side pillars 112 to each other. Each of the post contacts 120 is bent at a lower end thereof by about 90 degrees into an L-shape, and soldered onto the printed circuit board 102. Each of the post contacts 120 is fit at the other end thereof into a receptacle assembly 103 mounted on the printed circuit board 101 to thereby electrically connect to the printed circuit board 101.
FIG. 28 illustrates a pin header 200 suggested in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H7 (1985)-230862.
The illustrated pin header 200 includes a plurality of connector terminals 201, and a connector holder. The connector holder includes a board 202, an upper bar 203 horizontally extending along an upper end of the board 202, a lower bar 204 horizontally extending along a lower end of the board 202, and a plurality of protrusions 205 horizontally aligned at a middle of the boards 202. The connector terminals 202 are supported by the upper bar 203 and the lower bar 204. The protrusions 205 are located in gaps formed between the adjacent connector terminals 201 to thereby electrically insulate the adjacent connector terminals 201 to each other.
In an electric connector including a plurality of connector terminals through which printed circuit boards are electrically connected to each other, a positional relation between the printed circuit boards is important. For instance, when connector terminals are inserted at opposite ends thereof into through-holes formed through printed circuit boards, to thereby electrically connect the printed circuit boards to each other, if a positional relation between the printed circuit boards were displaced, the connector terminals might be able to be inserted at one of ends thereof into through-holes of one of the printed circuit boards, but could not be inserted at the other end thereof into through-holes of the other of the printed circuit boards, because axes of the connector terminals are displaced relative to axes of the through-holes. In particular, in the case that a plurality of electric connectors is employed, it is much afraid that connector terminals cannot be inserted into one of printed circuit boards. Furthermore, if connector terminals were designed to have a smaller cross-sectional area in order to allow the connector terminals to be much resiliently deformable, the connector terminals would allow a less current to pass therethrough.
In the connector 100 illustrated in FIGS. 27A and 27B, since the post contacts 120 are connected to the printed circuit board through the receptacle assembly 103, even if there were a gap between axes of the post contacts 120 and axes of through-holes of the printed circuit board 101, the receptacle assembly 103 is considered to be able to absorb the gap. However, the connector 100 has a disadvantage that the number of parts of the connector 100 unavoidably increases in order for the connector 100 to include the receptacle assembly 103 which absorbs the above-mentioned gap.
In the pin header 200 illustrated in FIG. 28, the connector terminals 201 are inserted directly into the printed circuit boards. The connector terminals 201 are fixed by the upper bar 203 and the lower bar 204, and the protrusions 205 merely separate the adjacent connector terminals 201 from each other. Accordingly, if there were a gap in a positional relation between the printed circuit boards, since positions of the connector terminals 201 and a gap between the connector terminals 201 are fixed by the upper bar 203 and the lower bar 204, even if the connector terminals 201 can be inserted into one of the printed circuit boards, the connector terminals 201 would not be able to be inserted into the other of the printed circuit boards.